The SEC outmatches Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 with three Elite 8 teams

In the midst of a television interview celebrating his team's Elite Eight-clinching victory, Kentucky coach John Calipari wanted to know something.

"Did Florida win?" Calipari asked.

The game wasn't over yet, and at that point the Gators seemed poised to pull away from Wisconsin in regulation. Until the Badgers mounted an epic comeback to force overtime, only to eventually get heartbroken off Chris Chiozza's buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime.

Calipari sarcastically quipped in the interview, "you can't have three SEC teams in the Elite Eight." Oh, but there is. The Wildcats flushed out the most explosive offensive team in the tournament in UCLA — behind a stout defense and 39 points from De'Aaron Fox — to reach the Elite Eight. Before that, South Carolina kept its magical season alive by throttling Baylor by 20 points.

For all the discussion about the depth of the ACC in the regular season — with 13 of 15 teams in the discussion to make the NCAA tournament at one point (only nine made it and one got past the first weekend) — and then the impressiveness of the Big Ten sending three teams to the Sweet 16 when it was seemingly disrespected by NCAA selection committee with its seeding, here we are a weekend away from the Final Four and a whopping three SEC teams are still around.

They don't call it madness for nothing.

ELITE EIGHT TEAMS STILL STANDING